UMBC Gender and Women's Studies Students Write Back

Are you tough enough to compete with the guys??

I was reading this article on espn discussing women trying to break the barrier and play football. when I started reading it I became excited that this is even a topic on espn because I know a lot of women who really enjoy playing this sport. Women who do play for a team that is not an all women’s league are mainly kickers for their program which is coincidentally the less contact position.

What I guess I don’t understand is why men feel they need to subject women as this delicate flower that will get crushed if they play football. there are very tough women out here who are even as tough as their male counterparts. Another thing that interested me is that their would be conflicts off the field if women were to play in the NFL. one thing that really stuck out was the lockeroom and how most of the bonding goes on their. even though that is true im sure the coaches and the players can find a way to bond with the opposite sex outside of the lockeroom, it has already been proven because men and women do it everyday. I don’t think that the lockeroom is the biggest situation so I think they are just trying to find ways to keep women out of the only sport that is male dominated.

another problem I have is when they discussed coaches telling females they can’t play football in high school because they don’t want them to get hurt. is that a stereotype or what i think if we were given the chance a lot of women can beat a man at any sport and hit and run with the best of them.

I guess with me being an athlete and playing football when I was younger, I just don’t see the problem with a female joining the sport

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4 Responses

I’m not sure if you’re suggesting women play in the NFL but if you are it’s potentially life-threatening to do so. We’re not talking sexism here, we’re talking about the physical make-up of a man.

In a speed based, strength driven game, women would be devoured. I’m sorry to shatter any illusion you have but 99.9% of women wouldn’t stand a chance and would be seriously injured, as are a lot of men who play the game.

The average career length of an NFL player is 4 years and this is for a man.

The reason I say this has nothing to do with a belief that men are better than women but the NFL are the absolute elite of physical specimens and genetics and chromosomes mean that men are bigger and stronger.

“99.9% of women wouldn’t stand a chance and would be seriously injured, as are a lot of men who play the game.” Where do you get that statistic from?

Different people have different bodies (that have different strengths) regardless of what gender they are. To categorize the vast wealth of body types of women into a category that deems them not as strong as men is to ignore their diversity and them as unique individuals – and is sexist.

C’mon it’s nothing to do with sexism. I’m not saying women couldn’t have their own league of all women players and play to the same standard as me. If I was suggesting that, it would be sexist. No matter how diverse the female body type, there are physical imitations because of testosterone etc that prevent a woman from reaching the same physical peak as an elite male athlete where strength and speed is concerned.

Look at the records set across sports such as athletic. Men run the 100m, 200m faster. They throw the hammer further. Multiply that differential by the impact and difference in body type and you’ll have female casualties everywhere.

I think you’re on the offensive because you interpret me as seeing men as being superior to women. That’s not the case. Thoroughly read what I’m saying.

I’m glad that ESPN has finally picked up on this, because there are a lot of female kickers out there, and I’m sure other positions too. Not to mention there is actually a National Women’s Football Association! (http://www.womensfootballassociation.com/) I’m also excited because I am a huge football fan myself (GO BENGALS!) and because as a kid, I loved playing street football with the boys.

However, my father got word of this, and out of worry that I would get injured more than anything else, told me that I had to stop playing football and I had to stick to ballet. Now, I have always loved ballet, before and after the football incident, but I didn’t understand why I couldn’t play football. It really hurt. Plus, with all those years of practice, I could’ve been really great.

So why couldn’t I play football? Ballet is also a dangerous sport, and so is color guard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7hYIa77w_Q watch 4:30-4:50 –yes, I’m actually in this-) and just from that I’ve sprained almost every joint in my body, chipped teeth, broken toes, dislocated fingers, bruised bones, torn ligaments, been on crutches, been to physical therapy… you get the idea.

I’ve always wanted to be a kicker because I have strong legs and am very flexible. But in high school when word got out that a girl was going to try out for the JV football team, there was an uproar. Most people didn’t know it was me, so I didn’t take any heat for it, but people were concerned saying that a girl couldn’t “hang with the guys” and would get injured, and didn’t understand why a girl would want to play football in the first place.

In the end I ended up going to a different high school the next year (for advanced academics) and stuck to dance and color guard and performed at halftime of the football games. But I did take weight training. The class was about half varsity basketball, half varsity football, a few wrestlers, and 2 varsity baseball players. I was the only girl. At my new high school, everyone treated me as an equal. I could bench 80% of my body weight, do 300 crunches without stopping, and could do a set of “dots” faster than half the boys. Every guy in the class was supportive and they called me their “little sister.” If anyone ever had a problem with me in the hallway, I instantly had a linebacker at my side asking if I needed anything.

While there is bonding in the locker room during any sport, respect is built during practice and during games. A good work ethic and talent speak for themselves. Being in the locker room alone before and after class didn’t keep me from bonding with the guys in my class. I even got asked on a few dates.

As long as the rules don’t change because we have to make “special provisions” so as not to hurt the women, I think it would be great to have a woman in the NFL. Kicker or not, if she can hold her own, I say go for it, girl!